News

McConnell too slow to stand by Scottish Enterprise

THE first minister Jack McConnell has been accused of “cowardice” after a delay of four days before he publicly defended Robert Crawford, chief executive of Scottish Enterprise (SE), against accusations of mismanagement.

A disgruntled group of SE employees is believed to be behind a plot to destabilise the company after leaking selective documents that gave only a partial picture of its performance.

Crawford is said to be angry that McConnell stood by while he was forced to respond to criticism. The first minister made a public statement following a hastily arranged meeting between SE officials and Iain Gray, the enterprise minister, on Monday.

“There was a distinct lack of political courage to stand by the management and Scottish Enterprise’s significant projects,” said a source.

“The fact that it took four days to get ministerial support is pretty ropey. The staff at SE are disappointed by that.”